Burial casket construction



Jan. 6, 1959 G. c. HILLENBRAND 2,867,030

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 5 inn.

Anon/y Jan, 6, 1959 G. c. HILLENBRAND 2,867,030

BURIAL GASKET CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 11, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 GASKET CNSTRUCTION George C. HillenbrandfBatesv-ille, Ind., assignor to VThe Batesville Casket C0., Inc.,.Batesville, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application l' `ebr|1allyV 11, 1957, Serial No. 639,262

7Y Claims. (Cl.27-14) .with two independently hinged top sections whereby, if

desired, only part vof the casket is opened for display purposes. In either case, Vthe casket top, or top sect1on, 1s

constituted by a rigid structural section which is conven- Iionally dome-shaped and an interior which is upholstered to provide a pleasing appearance. Further, it is now particularly desirable to provide a very strong top structure in order to permit the effective use of sealing gaskets on caskets of the type which are generally known in the trade as sealers. .Both the half couch and full couch sealer caskets are disclosed in United States Patent to Purkiss' No. 2,284,921. "These are but two of many types of caskets to which the invention is applicable. In general, it is applicable to any casket construction havinga body and a top, which top may compriserone or more sections.

`vUntil relatively recently, it was universal practice to rupholster. Vthe inside of the casket top, if intended for display purposes, with upholstering padding and a cover of silk, rayon, nylon, or the like, just as if the display were an article of furniture such as `a couch or chair. This upholstering operation proved very expensive in that .it required much material and time as vwell as highly skilled labor. kRecently it has become practicable to substitute a fabric-covered sheet material interiory unit or insert in the casket` top lin place of the conventional upholstering. Such an interior unit is disclosedin United States Patent Nog 2,664,615,- issued lanuary, 11954.

.ln thepast, it has `been conventional toplace a wooden ',frame about the margin of the hinged top of'the'casket both to stiifen the top and to Ypermit tacking o-f the upholstery or the sheetmaterial insert in placeiin the top of the casket. lhe use yof thesewo-oden framesis undesirable in that their construction yin the casket. topALdoes -not readily lend itself to quantity production methods,

ltheframe provides less than the fdesired rigidity and the operation of tacking 'theupholstery or interior unit in place is tedious and-requires'substantialhandlabor.

The casket top'of'the present invention is provided with aV novel, dual-purpose channel memberwhichztakes the place of the wooden frame and at once provides a top structure whichis very-rigid Vand which facilitates the attachment .of an ornamental interior; unitwhich is fabricated fromV sheet material. The. details of the construc- 'tion of the preferred sheet material yinterior unit or :insert are idisclosed in cci-pending application, Serial y'No'. y'.6593 68, filed February ,11, 1957,'y for Casket interior Unit.

.rates 4Pltm' The naturefof the' invention will be better understood by reference to 'the accompanying drawing in which:

1 Figure l'is a plan view of lthe interior of 'the domed casket. top section.

HFigure2 is a plan .view of the 'sheet material insert adapted to be placed in the top section which'lis-disclosed iu'Figure` l.

Figure 3 is a sectional View showing the marginal flange of the top section and the margin of the sheet `material insert prior ,to attachment of the insert to the topsection. Figure 4fis a sectional View showing the edge of'thc sheet material insert attached tothe flange of the'top section.

VofV the preferred sheet material interior unit'.

lReferring to the drawing, top section \1 is provided -withA-the conventional dome-like configuration 2 and an internally projecting marginal llange 3 which occupies 'a horizontalposition whenthe'casket top is down. About the'edgeof marginal -flange 3, channel members 4i are disposed by-spot welding, seam weldingor other means, `as at 5 and by` tack welding at the corners ofthe channel embers 4, as atl 6. vThus, the dome-shaped top section is .provided with a structurally reinforced margin which isirectangular. `'Hinges (not shown) are attached Jto-one .Y side of marginal flange 3 and on the ropposite side -of the topsection apertures 17 I are provided for f locking down ythe ytop 1 section.

.The reinforcing channel structure yisfconstitutedfby fourindividual ylengths `of `sheet metal. HEach lengthfis bent to` provide a face or stripA portion y8 vwhich is welded to the innerside ot'` the inturned llange '3, a llarng, subistantially LJ-shaped channel section 9 whichl projects -in- :ward-ly ofthe marginal flange 3 anda reinforced inner margin il@ which is provided by the inner edgeiof the channel member which is bent upon itself asdisclosedi-in Figures 3 and 4. It isalso to be particularlynotedfthat ythechannelfmembersiare secured v.within thelAmarg-inal ,llangeinsuchfa'manner'that the edge of the marginal tiange extends beyondtheA outer Ailange ofthe vchannel to :providea .detent;edge 11. i

T he sheetmaterial interior unit or insert, which is .more particularly disclosed in co-pending application, Serial No. 6,39,368 tiled February 1l, l'9,57,.c.omprises a .top

Figure 5 isa-"broken View which shows the construction r, panel v12, 4side frame members,=l3,.which are preferably o zbowed, and lock tabsldxwhich Iitintov the channel the sheet metalframe. Individual lock tabs :are shownrat the sides of the insertg'howevenxit' .will `be appreciatedl that `the tabs vmay becontinuous'tat each of the four sidesxof .the unit. VlVlore-particularly, the insert is constitutedfby sheet material such as cardboard members' l5 ',whichgare :held together by staplesidor b3/,Stitches or .thelike'and ywhichare covered by a lining cloth 17 and asurface ,fabric 18 vwhich maybe silk, rayon, nylon orfsorne other Y fabric havin'7 .a pleasing .and ornamental appea'rance.v

.,Qrlinarily, an adhesive-is lused ,forV securing the fabrics to the cardboard or paperboard backing and to-eacl 1'c; j,tl1er. The margin..ofsthefsheetmaterial insert :may-be sev vcuredtothe channel vwhichrigidifiesthe .topsection by anyA desired 'means but preferably, thegconstruction is .utilized which is particularly. disclosed ,in` Figures-3- and4. Y Fljheipreferred .forni of the .invention,providesfor the `tutili- (zation of a ldouble lbend of. thesheetllmaterial insert ad- .jacenttoits marginwhereby the marginof the sheet .material insert is'nestedin they channel with `the'.marginal tabs .of the sheet material .insert retained; in Alockedposi- .tionin thechannel .by the reverse bendof .the lock ytabsllf! :whichengage detenty l1. l

'While the construction described is adequate l,t'oQhold l.the ,sheetzmaterial insert .inthel sheet frnetalfcasketytop, the construction A`as ;so. farldescribedfleaves ,the, joint, 1or lock visually exposed, which is undesirable in an ornamental structure such as a casket top. Hence, ornamental plastic or rubber beading 19 is utilized to cover the junction of the margin of the sheet material insert and the margin of the inturned flange of the cackettop.

, because it can be readily snapped in the channel and the ornamental beading can also be snapped into the channel thus both visually obscuring the junction of the dish and its frame and insuring the tightness and permanence of the lock between the margin and the snap-in dish and the channel.

The advantages of the disclosed construction are numerous. In the first place, the reinforcing channel provides an improved casket top structure which has far greater rigidity than the Ordinary casket top which is fabricated with a wooden frame and this rigidity is particularly desirable if the casket is of the sealer type. Furthermore, the inwardly turned flanges are maintained vided with an internally extending ange which is in 'horizontal position when the casket top is in closed position and a reinforcing channel secured to said iiange, said channel projecting inwardly of the flange yand extending all of the way around the casket top, an ornamental sheet material insert having its margin disposed in said channel, and means for securing said margin in said channel.

3. A Vcasket top comprising a sheet metal structure adapted to be fastened to a casket body, said top pro-v vided with an inwardly extending flange surrounding the inside of the top which is in horizontal position when the casket top is in closed position, reinforcing channel members, each reinforcing channel member comprising a planar strip portion having an integral channel portion extending along one side edge thereof, the respective reinforcing channel members secured to the inner face of in true planar condition so that they present at mating surfaces to sealing devices which may be located on the margin of the body of the casket. A's pointed out before, this sealer type of casket requires a very rigid top section because the top section must be drawn evenly into close contact with the top of the body section of the casket in order to provide a seal between the top section and the body of the casket. In the second place, the use of the sheet material insert saves a great deal of expense in labor and materials in comparison with the conventional operation of upholstering the interior of the top section by conventional methods. In the third place, t'he snap-in lock between the margin of the insert and the channel of the top provides a connection which is both secure and ornamental and which requires no laborious hand work or specialized skill to consummate. Additionally, the decorative insert is held in place solely by reason of its engagement with the reinforcing channel. Therefore, 4the means which are provided to hold it in place places no restriction upon its design, shape, or construction other than that it have some means at its outer marginal edge to engage in the channel. Hence, this invention provides a casket which is not only structurally superior to conventional caskets but which may be fabricated in quantity production with minimum expenditure of labor and materials` While the channel members herein are shown in rela-` tion to a casket shell section constituting a top, it can also be used in relation to the shell section constituting a body of a casket, with the channel being disposed to receive decorative lining material for the interior of the casket body.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A casket top comprising a sheet metal structure adapted to be fastened to a casket body, said top provided with an internally extending flange which is in horizontal position when the casket top is in closed position, and a reinforcing channel secured to said tiange, said channel projecting inwardly of the ange and extending lall of the way around the casket top, a sheet material ornafk mental insert having its margin disposed in said channel, and detent means associated with said channel and engaging the margin of said insert for securing said margin in said channel.

2. A casket top comprising a sheet metal structureV adapted to be fastened to a casket body, said top prothe internally extending liange and being coextensive therewith, the channel portions of the members disposed to the inside of said internally extending ange and opening downwardly in positions to receive the outer marginal edges of a casket top lining, and means in the channel to lock the marginal edges of said top lining therein.

4. A casket top comprising a sheet metal structure adapted to be fastened to a casket body, said top provided with an internally extending iiange which is planar and which is in horizontal position when the casket top is in closed position, a reinforcing channel extending all of the way around the inwardly extending flange adjacent iiange adjacent to the inward margin thereof to rigidify the casket top, a sheet material ornamental insert for said casket top having its marginal edges inserted into said channel, and means securing said marginal edges in said channel.

5. A casket top comprising a sheet metal structure which has a continuous tiat flange extending marginally around its underside, rigid channel portions immovably xed to the ilange adjacent to the inner edges thereof, a decorative insert of sheet-like material of a size to substantially fill the space between the inner edges of the dat iiange, tabs at the marginal edges of said insert engaged in said channel portions, and means to lock said tabs in said channel portions to hold said insert in place in the top.

6. A casket top comprising a sheet metal structure adapted to be fastened to a casket body, said top being provided with an internally extending liange which is in a horizontal position when the casket top is in a closed position, channel members mounted on the interior edge of said inwardly turned iiange with the edge of the iiange projecting beyond the outer wall of the channel to provide a detent, and a sheet material ornamental insert provided with marginal tabs, said marginal tabs tucked into the channel and retained therein by the detent.

7. A casket top comprising a sheet metal structure adapted to be fastened to a casket body, said top provided with an internally extending ange which is in a horizontal position when the casket top is in closed position, channel members mounted on the interior edge of said inwardly turned flange with the edge of the flange projecting beyond the outer wall of the channel to provide a detent and a sheet material ornamental insert provided with marginal tabs, said marginal tabs tucked into the channel and retained therein by said detent, and ornamental beading disposed in said channel to cover the joint betwen the ange and insert and to insure the permanence of the lock between the top and insert.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 290,996' Nierstheimer Dec. 25, 1883 1,486,384 King Mar. 11, 1924 2,524,402 Slaughter et al. Oct. 3, 1950 2,821,770 Gruber Feb. 4, i958 

